When Olympic athletes speak out in favor of “progressive” causes, they make front page news in the United States. But when a multiple gold medal winner at multiple Olympics speaks in favor of the Second Amendment and self defense, it was the foreign press that covered the issue. Kim Rhode from theguardian.com:
“When you look at these events that have been occurring, they’ve been occurring in some of the strictest gun law countries in the world,” she said. “You have Paris, you have San Bernardino, which was actually in a gun-free zone, so, yeah, it’s actually something that you take into consideration.
“For me personally, I realize the first responsibility of a police officer is to respond to an incident and for me personally, in that five minutes or 10 minutes or 20 minutes in some cases that it takes for them to get there, how do you want to stand there? I would rather have my second amendment right.”
Rhode, who has won three Olympic gold medals, the last of which came in the 2012 London Games, believes her sport has been “stigmatized” in recent years. She lamented the loss of the world of her parents, where children read “dime novels” about Teddy Roosevelt and Annie Oakley and guns were celebrated as a part of culture.
Kim Rhode’s statements in favor of self defense, freedom, and American culture were ignored by the dominant media in the United States. While Rhode comments at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro were met with deafening silence from The New York Times, the Washington Post, AP and the LA Times, the foreign press printed lenghthy articles. They appeared in the UK Guardian and Independent.
Japan Times spent column inches explaining the demented death threats that shooting atheletes receive from anti-gun and anti-hunting extremists.
Several shooters have received death threats, requiring extra security.
Trap shooter Corey Cogdell-Unrein needed extra protection after someone posted hunting videos on her Facebook page without her knowledge.
A two-time Olympian, she grew up in Alaska, where the family hunted for its food, and still hunts. Despite saying she didn’t agree with the content of the videos, Cogdell-Unrein received numerous death threats before the 2012 Olympics.
After the London Games, where she won bronze, thousands of people signed a petition to strip her of the medal.
To their credit, NPR did a story before the Olympic games, and USA Today briefly mentioned Rhode’s statements in a related story about teammate Ginny Thrasher.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
That woman is tougher, mentally, than a lot of so called POTG.
Kudos to her for speaking out. I’m sure in the world of the Olympic games, there’s plenty of pressure to toe certain political lines and not say anything controversial.
Also, it’s “Rhode”, no terminal “S”. Like what’s printed on her shirt in the photo…
Off topic so feel free to delete at will, TTAG.
I just saw an article (VOX?) on the Yahoo News site advancing the notion that Sweden’s gun laws would serve as a good model for the US. Written by an American hunter that was documenting his hunting trip to Sweden. Yet another attempt to divide and conquer by attempting to appeal to the hunting community. As I recall, the author is a ‘perfessor’, go figure.
Yeah, Vox. I saw that yesterday too. “A Solution for America’s Gun Problem” or some such driven. It was a painful skim, assumption that we actually have a problem, and that the solution is that we “show ourselves to be responsible hunters” by obeying idiotic rules, and cede all control over our guns to the gov.
No mention of why the 2A really exists.
The brainwash was complete with that one.
A perfessor? So he’s got a PhD? You know what that stands for right? (Piled higher and deeper).
Love that comic. Never got around to the movie, but it’s on my list…
“PhD – Piled higher and Deeper”
Not a quote from a comic, at least not an original quote from a comic. While this was also most likely something he heard, since he loved to take and/or audit university level classes, the first person to nationally/internationally popularize this comment, to my knowledge, was none other than Robert A. Heinlein. Not known for his comedy.
Cliff, I think he’s talking about the comic strip by that name, not a standup comedian. But you’re right, the joke goes way back. If I were to guess, I’d bet it dates to about a day or two after they started using “PhD” as an abbreviation…
Cliff, Sorry for the confusion. I was not aware that Heinlein was the original author of the sentiment (it’s a common phrase in the halls of academe).
I kinda figured he was referencing the comic strip of the same name. Been around for a long while, I got into it when I lived in the Bay Area in the late 90s. In some of my worlds, it’s a commonly known thing and I just assumed. And we all know how that goes….
Kim did a great job, hope they just let her and her family stand on that. But I’m grateful that she held up the flag of the cause, and I sincerely hope there’s no Olympic Committee repercussions. If so, they can stuff their Jenner Wheaties boxes in every hole of their logo.
Kudos, etc., etc.
Can we, as POTG, once we have identified wonderful people such as this, mount some sort of campaign to correct their terminology, gently, appreciatively?
There is no Second Amendment Right. There is only a natural, civil and Constitutionally PROTECTED right to keep and bear arms. This is an important concept and needs to be stressed at every opportunity.
I’m sick of the press sticking microphones in athletes’ mouths. The whole idea of the Olympics is for nations to put aside their political differences and compete in various athletic events.
Kim is there to shoot clay birds. If I were her, I would ignore the press until it was all over with. I wouldn’t discuss gun laws until I came home.
She certainly has a right to express her opinion, which I am not trying to squelch. But it plays right into the strategy of the press trying to create controversy in their naked quest for ratings.
Last night I watched some swimming and some volleyball. It was SO much more enjoyable after I pressed the MUTE button!
” The whole idea of the Olympics is for nations to put aside their political differences and compete in various athletic events.”
The whole idea of the Olympics from day one, until right now, is warfare by other means.
Thank You,,,, i thought i was the only one sick of hearing commentators critique ever facet of every event . Bob Costas please shut up.
Love our medal winning gals! And Corey Cogdell is married to a Chicago Bear player! Plenty of positive stories in Chicago.
Is her booger hook on the bang switch?
Yes, it is, but…
She has undoubtedly been asked to pose as if she were preparing to take her shot (PULL!) and she has good muzzle discipline, even assunimg there was an actual photographer standing behind the camera. I suspect that when a trap shooter is expecting a target they have their finger ready on the trigger.
To bad some of these steely-eyed shootists weren’t in place in Munich 1972.
Or Berlin in 1936.
I know, I know, Godwin’s law. Screw Godwin.
If they were transgengered Muslims as well as non white they wouldn’t dare criticize them. Shooting is like Christianity, fair game for assault.
If they were transgender Muslims their only participation at the Olympics would be as targets for the Middle-East teams in the shotput and hammer throw events.
good for you kim,we know the lame stream bought and paid for treasonous media puppets,will hide/coverup/and black out this story,but don,t worry kim see we have our own medias,and will be sending out this story of yours everyday to everyone we know around the country and the world,and will keep exposing your story.so what the lame stream medias do or don,t do,doesn,t matter one bit to us,as we haven,t listened to or watched the lame stream medias in yrs.and congratulations of your gold medal win.